In the story, Naruto is a young ninja from the fictional village of Konoha. His body encases the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that attacked his village around the time of his birth. His primary motivation throughout the series is to become Hokage, or in other words, the village leader of Konoha. During the beginning of the series, Naruto was a simple-minded prankster who wished for acceptance. However, as the series progresses, Naruto develops into a much more mature character, although he still retains some of his childlike traits. Naruto appears in all of the series' films, as well as in other media related to the franchise, including video games and OVAs.

Several anime and manga publications have expressed acclaim and criticism of Naruto's character. While many reviewers consider him one of the most memorable anime and manga characters in history, he has been viewed as a stereotypical manga and anime protagonist comparable to many other protagonists in other shōnen manga.Nevertheless, Naruto has remained highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Naruto has also been released, including figurines and plush dolls.